Help Needed on Size of Finger Food Bites

The small bites you describe are perfect. If you are going to give her apples or pears, I would give her the Graduates jars of cut up apple and pears. Fresh apple/pear is to hard for her. I just started giving my 16 month old fresh cut apple cut up small a month or two ago. Its to hard without teeth to chew up. I give her soft crackers that disolve easily like graham crackers, gold fish, cheerios, etc. No wheat thins or anything like that. Those are to hard. Cut up banana is great. I can now give her a piece of banana and she eats it fine (she only has 4 teeth). I still cut up her meat small so that she doesn't have any issues. You are not overly cautious, don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

I think the size depends on the consistency of the food.

I would like to recommend that you learn how to stop a child from choking---there are online certification programs for first aid, and I suspect you can also learn how to do cpr, if you are not able to take a class in person.
I know you are already worried about the choking, I'm not trying to make it worse. =) But I know that a child suffers more quickly from lack of oxygen than an adult, so the more you know, the better! I think you might feel more confident if you knew what to do if it happened.

Hello J.,
It is wonderful that you are being so protective of your little one and doing it because of the desire to keep your child from harm.
I have 5 children, been a foster parent and have many sweethearts as grand children. I haven't lost one yet to choking. Your mother is only being helpful and hoping that you will relax and enjoy your parenthood.
My 10 month old grandchild is "nawing" everything. She will hold a regular cracker, chunks of cheese about the size of those tiny cocktail wenies. I will cook her chunks of squash and she will hold a 1/2 inch chunk & eat it. I keep it big enough to hold onto as they eat but not so large to be to much for their little grips.
Enjoy your motherhood. Having children is an adventure like no other and the greatest thing you will ever accomplish.
Nana Glenda

I am of the "better safe than sorry" school myself, so I understand your concern. I would continue to cut pieces small until she starts really chewing things. You can give her texture and crunchy things with Cheerios and other cereals- they dissolve- toast, crackers, and that kind of thing. Apples and meat should definitly be small! If you are using canned pears, I bet they are soft enough for your baby to break up with her toungue. Gerber makes those wagon wheels and veggie puffs if you want other textures. There are also a variety of freeze dried foods that are cut up small. It's hard when your mom is telling you things to the contrary, and one day you may look back at your caution and laugh, but I think it is always best to go with your gut... if for nothing else than for your sanity!

I agree with Marlene. My children were never baby-food kids. They wanted what we ate, so I just cut it up real small. It helps with their dexterity to pick it up anyway! You sound like you've got your head on straight in this area for the age of your child. You will eventually give her bigger pieces, but I'd steer clear of the obvious (nuts etc). You can give her a whole cracker, they just turn it into mush and don't really ingest much but it gives them practice at biting things off. Cheerios, gerber foods does give them some 'crunchy' options that dissolve easily.

You are doing great and don't worry about what others think. Be cautious, it doesn't sound like you are over-bearing to me. While we can't prevent everything, we can do our part to help keep them safe to our abilities.

Take care & have a great day.
D.

I learned that a babies air pipe is as big around as their pinky finger. I always think better safe than sorry. I would stick with the smaller bites. I think it would be better for her digestion as well. and I wouldn't give her crunchier foods necessarily until she has plenty of teeth (which you didn't mention if she has or not), my dr. said not to even give her corn....??? anyways, hope that helps, it's never fun to have your baby choke on something! It's REALLY scarey!

Choking is a scary thing and I agree that a cpr, first aid class would be wise. But also you are the mom and have a sense of what she can handle. No one knows her better then you. So follow your instinct.I just started giving my 15 month old bigger pieces such as a slice of apple and a half of bagel . I was questioning some of the foods your giving her though in reguards to alergies. I thought eggs are not till after the first year and I thought fish too. I am not positive but you might look up the recommended guidelines and follow as close as you can. I blew it with my first born and was eager to give her dairy and I started to young. She has had a senitive stomach her whole life now to dairy. I think I gave other foods to soon and of all my children she is the only one to have tummy aches and digestive problems. Just my experience.

First, while maybe you are cutting things a little smaller than necessary, don't worry about what others say; do what you are comfortable with and be strict about it. Otherwise, grandparents will not follow your rules and could end up giving things much too big.

My mother also thought that the babies could have larger pieces; maybe back in her day, they weren't as cautious as they are today, or maybe she has just forgotten. Either way, the pieces she recommended were always larger than what the doctor recommended.

Until they get their back teeth, it is hard for them to really chew things up. Your best bet is to cut food up pretty small ... I think I quartered grapes, cherry tomatoes, and hot dog slices. I'd give them whole goldfish crackers but, as an example, my sister was breaking goldfish crackers in pieces long after her daughter's first birthday.

Net, talk to your doctor, do what you feel is safest and keep the pieces small.

Something I did with my baby as he grew was to test the food - I'd put a piece of whatever food I had a question about in my mouth and squish it with my tongue against the roof of my mouth. If it "squished" or dissolved, it was fine and I gave it to my son.

If it stayed intact and whole, then I either cut it small (so as not to block the windpipe) or left it big so he hold hold and gnaw on it. Like an apple for example, I'd give him a whole slice so he could gnaw/suck/scrape bits off with his tiny little teeth. Otherwise a small chunk goes completely into his mouth and takes too long to break apart, creating a potential for choking...

Don't worry - it's good for your child to learn to chew and not just gulp everything. They *do* have instincts, when they choke, they gag and that brings the food forward. Sounds awful but it's reality, they will learn better when they are given the chance to - while you are nearby, of course.

Each child is different, so you need to experiment (carefully) to know what she's ready for. At this point, I'm assuming she doesn't have much in the way of chewing teeth or molars, so she must be able to smash finger food with her gums. Soft foods like bananas, ripe pears, ripe peaches, prunes, bread, etc. are all easy for gummers to eat. By that age, I was making chunks the size of a Cherrio or my thumbnail, because that size (larger than what you're doing) was easier for her to grasp and get to her mouth. My test for crunchier foods was: if I could smash it fairly easily btwn my thumb and forefinger, I would let her try it. Cherrios, Gerber snacks (the little stars), hard cheese, and some more firm fruit and veggies worked well for her. Remember with dry crunchy snacks they'll add a lot of saliva while chewing, so if it desolves fairly easily (like the Gerber snacks) it will work well. Pasta is also a great thing for that age (cooked of course). Just experiment and see what she can handle. If it's too hard or too much she'll likely just spit it out, or you'll notice it's taking her too long to chew and swallow.

My son is 2 and still chokes on apple pieces unless they are very small. I would say you could give her larger bites than the size of her pinky, but not that big. I would cut a banana into pieces and then quarter the pieces so they can be picked up easily. Apple and pear, small pieces about the size of a small thimble is what I still give him. I do let him eat 1/2 a banana now that he is older, but he can't handle carrots, celery, lettuce and stuff like that he still chokes. Go with your instincts and don't let her walk around with food, be right there by her paying attention while she is eating new foods, you never know what will make them choke.

perhaps I am the voice of a lack of caution but I think that as long as you are right there, definately go ahead with the larger chunks... My second also did not take to purees and i gave her whole green beans, half of a banana etc to self feed. As for crunchier, I had a bad experience with a chip at a mexican restaurant and I would hold out two more months on the really crunchy stuff, but a cracker here and there and other stuff is not too concerning. I would however stay a bit cautious, maybe go a little larger with chicken and meat but not too much.

HI J.,
as a mom of 3 I think your instincts are right it is safer to stick with the smaller pieces and of course grapes and hotdogs make sure they are sliced into atleast halves or even quarters as not to get lodged in her throat. bananas she can probably gnaw on but I would stay away from large pieces of the harder fruits and vegetables until she is a toddler. bite size is safer.

I think at this stage you would be okay to give her things that are the size of say a cherrio....see if she tolerate that and than move on to larger pieces of banana, toast,big bites of yogurt with fruit. Gradually move her to things like that so that she can learn to chew and swallow. By giving her only smaller items that can be swallowed easily, she won't learn to chew things enough to get them to that small, non "gagable" size. I was very nervous with my first son too, it's all scary when it's new.....she'll get the hang of it, it just takes time and unfortunatly, a few gagging incidents.

good luck
K.

It sounds like you're doing great. Why would you 'need' to give her bigger pieces? keep it small till your sure. Little bits of fresh apple are just as nutritious and delicious as bigger bites... You ARE Mom now. trust yourself

Trust mom. =)
If you are that worried then be willing to take a class in CPR. You will learn what to do when your baby chokes or stops breathing. It is a worthwhile class even if you don't take it for your own child.

My opinion on this is don't give her crunchy things yet. Also, your size is perfect. Do what makes you comfortable. You do not have to worry about being overly cautious. My nephew choked on popcorn when he was about one year old, turned blue, no noise and my sister in law had to do the heimlich maneuver. Needless to say, I thought they were crazy for giving him popcorn in the first place. You can never be too careful when it comes to choking. Really soft, almost dissolvable food is best. No chicken until after one year I think due to possible allergies. Good luck and keep being cautious :-)

About the only way to find out what she can handle is to let her try it out. At her age, you really should be sitting with her while she eats to monitor such things and to help her learn how to take bites rather than to stuff her mouth with food (I think all children try that). For things like apples, you may need to peel it first for a while, but after she gets a few more teeth and has mastered most foods, start giving her a chance to try a slice with the peel on. She may learn quickly to eat the peel too, or she may do as our grandson does and eat the pulp out and leave the peel.